Under the Waves is a narrative undersea adventure game from Parallel Studio and published by Quantic Dreams. Whilst it is open-world, the game has echoes of the story-driven gameplay associated with the publisher’s other titles such as Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human.

Players put on the wetsuit of Stanley Morey, a deep-sea diver with oil company, Unitrench. In a bid to escape personal trauma, Stanley accepts a posting to an undersea base maintaining the oil company’s equipment on the ocean floor.

The game starts with Stanley taking a submersible to his new undersea accommodation. Once aboard the base, we see that the game’s almost cartoon, stylised visuals evoke a 1960/70s vibe of cathode ray tubes and boxy computer equipment.

The game is, at its core, about a man and his sub carrying out routine maintenance work whilst dealing with his grief. It’s an unashamedly slow burn of a game designed to absorb the player into an emotional journey.

Under the Waves is open-world with mission-based progress. Tasks are set by Stanley’s topside supervisor, Tim, via radio. Stanley and Tim know each other and a lot of foreshadowing regarding Stanley’s traumatic past can be gleaned from their conversations.

Collecting trash from the ocean floor can be used to craft items helpful in the game. You’d have thought, in keeping with the game’s environmental stance, that this would be more important than it is, but it isn’t. Stanley’s exasperated monologues did guilt me into collecting trash whenever I could, though.

At the start, the missions involve visiting the various derelict installations and performing some low-level puzzles to get various bits of equipment running. There are also some photo challenges with Stanley tasked to capture a few different undersea creatures in the wild.

At any time, Stanley can exit the sub and swim about using his Scuba gear. Whilst the sub has its own air supply, when swimming players have to take care to keep an eye on their oxygen supply.

The star of the show is the vast undersea environment that players can explore from the very start. There’s a lot of fun to be had piloting the submersible discovering wrecks whilst uncovering what Unitrench is up to. The ocean is teaming with life and the ocean floor is full of nooks and crannies. It is an absolute joy to just explore the environment.

The game has been developed in partnership with the ocean environmental group, Surfrider Foundation Europe. The intentions are no doubt honourable, but the game is sometimes less than subtitle with its environmental messaging.

For a game that’s all about piloting an undersea craft and swimming about, the controls do not feel as intuitive as they should be. A lot of this I think is down to the camera which has a peculiar tilt to it whilst traversing the beautiful underwater world.

There’s no combat in the game, but hit enough rocks (or sea mines) and the sub will implode. The screen flashes up a message of condolences from Unitrench, at the same time stating that a bill will be sent to Stanley’s relatives for the damaged sub. In case you haven’t realised by then, the oil company, Unitrench, are nasty people.

I love the retro-cartoony style of the interior and the beautiful ocean environment. The submersible, as well looks great. The story is poignant and somewhat eerie, giving me vibes like James Cameron’s The Abyss. At times the pacing was a bit too slow for me, but this is more of an interactive story than an action game.

Under the Waves is almost the undersea adventure that I’ve been pining for. It’s a little rough around the edges but still looks amazing. It’s a game that will certainly appeal to fans of narrative-focused titles like Don’t Nod’s Life is Strange and KeokeN Interactive’s Deliver Us The Moon.

The post Under the Waves (Xbox Series X|S) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The idea that our machines may soon become sentient is a popular one right now and the subject of the master of interactive storytelling, David Cage’s latest offering, Detroit: Become Human.

As with previous games from French outfit, Quantic Dreams, Detroit: Become Human is more interactive movie than straight video game. Anyone expecting any sort of action or deep RPG gameplay should look elsewhere.

Since 2005’s Fahrenheit the French studio, under the direction of David Cage, has been pushing the boundaries of video games as a storytelling medium, with varying success. This time, with Detroit: Become Human, I felt more in the driving seat than the likes of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls.

In the year 2038 Cyberlife androids have become an essential part of human society. For the most part they perform menial tasks in servitude to their human masters. But something is happening in Detroit. Some of the androids are deviating from their programming and attaining free will.

The game is structured around the stories of three different androids.

The first android, Connor, has been assigned to Detroit PD to help with the investigation into a series of murders carried out by deviant androids. He is partnered with the gruff Lieutenant Anderson, played by genre favourite, Clancy Brown.

Domestic housekeeper, Kara, is the second android that we follow in the story. Kara is a deviant who is on the run with Alice, a human child, having escaped an abusive household.

The third part of the story follows the deviant android Marcus, former companion and carer to Carl Manfred who is played by Lance Henriksen. Marcus’s story is once of building an android resistance movement.

It’s impossible for me to go into any more details regarding the actual plot of the game. In a complete playthrough players are likely to have only sampled a fraction of the game’s content, based upon their choices and actions. The vast amount of plot permutations, based on players’ actions and decisions make it very unlikely that two players will have the same experience.

At the end of each chapter a flow-chart highlights the path taken by the player, highlighting just how many different outcomes there could have been. It’s impressive just how much content has been put into the game that players may never see.

The interactive sections are limited to exploration, which sometimes unlocks additional choices, gesture-based actions and the dreaded (and so 2010) quick-time events. Players’ actions serve as triggers to branch off the story rather than really requiring any type of skill.

Despite it’s aspirations, Detroit: Become Human is not an original concept. I would suggest that Quantic Dreams boss and auteur of the game, David Cage, has likely digested the Swedish sci-fi show Real Humans or, more likely, the British Channel 4/AMC remake, Humans. The similarities are undeniable.

Detroit: Become Human is probably the best game yet from Quantic Dreams. The graphical prowess of the PlayStation 4 is almost enough for frustrated filmmaker, David Cage, to be able to digitally realise his ambitious line of interactive story-telling.

The visuals are good, but I’ve seen better.

As a PS4 exclusive, it’s not in the same league as the like of God of War. Still, the motion capture and acting are top-notch. Clancy Brown plays an ever-so-cliched cop but does so with aplomb. Similarly, the androids, which could have easily got away with being played in a wooden manner, really encourage empathy with their very human behaviour.

Overall, Detroit: Become Human is an impressive effort.

The large amount of variation and choices make each players’ playthrough a unique experience. It really is like watching an interactive CGI movie. Some of those interactions are a bit lame, but I don’t think the game is intended to be too taxing.

It’s a shame that the subject matter seems to be overused at the moment. The likes of Humans and Westworld ask the same questions about sentient machines, for me taking away some of the impact. This is not a game for everyone, but if you like a decent bit of proper sci-fi, you should check it out.

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